Skip to content Skip to site index Search & Section Navigation Account Opinion Bret Stephens Iran Found Trump’s Bone Spur June 16, 2026 Credit... Photo illustration by Tam Stockton for The New York Times Listen · 5:28 min Share full article 1.1k By Bret Stephens Opinion Columnist Iran’s military leaders have greeted the cease-fire agreement with President Trump as a triumph, crowing that “through the imposition of their divine and iron will” they had “humiliated American and Zionist enemies.” Mostly, they’re right. Mostly, because it’s worth remembering that the current regime in Iran is far less formidable than it was before the Hamas assault on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Back then, Iran had potent allies and proxies in Syria, Lebanon, Gaza and Yemen. Its nuclear program was intact and steadily accumulating ever larger quantities of highly enriched uranium. It had a powerful military-industrial base, a weak but functional economy and a government that — f...